The practice of tinting, coloring, lacquering or polishing finger and/or toe nails has been around for centuries. Typically, nail polish or lacquer products are applied as a temporary decoration and/or to improve the strength of the underlying nail. One advantage of such temporary color applications is that they may be readily removed such that the color or decoration may be changed or so that the natural nail appearance can be restored. Generally, the nail polishes or lacquers are removed using commercially available solvents in the form of nail polish removers.
Currently, nail polish removers generally contain acetone, acetonitriles, benzene, aromatic nitrites, alcohol and/or ethyl acetate as the active ingredient. These nail polish removers are highly toxic and extremely odorous. They can also be harmful, irritating, drying and damaging to the skin and nails when applied for removing nail polish. Accordingly, there is a demand for a nail polish remover which has a reduced level of toxicity and a more pleasing odor.
Additionally, over the last few years, the application of artificial nails such as, for example, acrylic, gel or silk, linen or fiberglass wraps, has become more prevalent. Generally, such products are applied or bonded onto the natural nail to provide a more uniform and/or attractive appearance. Thereafter, a nail polish or lacquer is applied to provide color and/or to cover the sculpting product used to form the artificial nail. Unfortunately, changing or removing a colored polish or lacquer from artificial nails can be difficult since most commercially available nail polish removers may damage the underlying sculpting product. For example, solvents such as acetates, acetones and acetonitriles which are commonly used in nail polish removers can weaken and/or dissolve the resins or sculpting products used to form and/or bond the artificial nail to the natural nail. Thus, there is a demand for a nail polish remover that can be applied on or used to remove polish from artificial nails without damaging or compromising the integrity of the resins or sculpting products used to form the artificial nail.